Game Piracy is a growing concern in Canada

The Vancouver Sun reports on the growing concerns over video game piracy in Canada. The Toronto based Entertainment Software association of Canada noted video game piracy is a big problem with a study indicating that while 17 percent of Americans admitted to owning a pirated video game, double that amount admitted to owning a pirated game in Canada.

"It's a difficulty within our industry," said Daniel Brady, general manager of Burnaby-based Blue Castle Games, which makes games for five different platforms. "Piracy is more prevalent in the PC games, and there is a certain degree of protection in consul games. But as consoles are around for a while, people figure the machines out and piracy really takes off."

Danielle Parr, executive director of Toronto-based Entertainment Softwear Association of Canada, said video game piracy is a growing problem, costing North American companies $3 billion globally. Here at home, Canadians are worse than their American cousins when it comes to waving the skull-and-crossbones flag. A recent ESAC survey of gamers reported 17 per cent of Americans admitted to owning a pirated video game, while exactly double that number, 34 per cent, of Canadians confessed.

"In other industries, you have revenue from other sources -- concert tours, movie box office -- but the only way the video game industry can make money is by the sale of entertainment software," Parr said. "Piracy really has an impact."

This is so biased they just posted record profits here in Canada what well over a billlion in software this year way up fom last year....... Has for piracy hurting sales facts seem to say otherwise....